Why Isn’t Anyone Talking About The Radicalization of Whites?

Many of my white friends have become Radicalized

What do white people got to be so angry about? ~ Chris Rock

A while back ago I spoke in great pain on how I’m losing friends fighting racism. I talked about how one can have friends (white) who will invite you (black person) to a Christmas dinner, but will engage in vehicular manslaughter when it comes to Black Lives Matter protesters. What I didn’t really discuss was this radicalization process among the white community in America which makes such violent ideas possible.

Radicalization? You probably never really took a look at it. You’re probably wondering what am I talking about. Radicalization? What radicalization?

Radicalization of the White American

The put this into perspective, I do a lot of political/protest rallies as a street photographer. Out of the thousands of photos I’ve ever taken, I never seen anything like this in a political rally before in my life. The crazy thing about this photo is the fact that it was difficult to get anything like this. You see, the photography is tightly controlled in a Trump rally. They are NOT media friendly. The bigger take away here is the fact that this is is categorically odd to capture at a political rally.

As Donald Trump continued to validate the claims of white supremacists, Americanized Nazis, and other racists, I always think of this photo. When Richard Spencer held an Americanized Nazi rally in Washington D.C. and mainstream (whitestream?) media attempted to romanticize the alt-right, I thought of this photo.

I think of this photo a lot. As a black abolitionist, I never really stop to think about what does white supremacist ideologies and propaganda feels like to a white person. When it comes to that question this photo says plenty.

Sure, to a black person this level of pride is sick and disgusting. But to a white person, all of this — white supremacy, white privilege, white defaultness — is simply, the way. All of this is simply the way things are. While these things are largely invisible in (white) American society, these things are in fact known and understood.

What takes place is a caste system within a society. Currently, America is NOT one reality for all. You cannot argue that we live in an equal society if a police officer can murder me and attempt to place false evidence by my body, and not be convicted.

White Radicalization is a Reality

With an intricate collective of white supremacist websites, blogs, message board forums and conservative pundits, glued together with conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns (which guides stupid whites into kinetic action), we are now facing a moment in modern history where white people are now becoming radicalized into white supremacy at an alarming rate. Where a man named Barry Goldwater campaigned as a blatant white supremacist and failed, Donald Trump did the same and succeeded. Nazis think they can wear suits and nice haircuts and do Nazi salutes downtown Washington D.C.

Some of the friends I’ve lost, the white ones, now dance with the devil when it comes to the white radicalization process. I’ve noticed this when Obama was in office. One white male I’ve known for the Army years had a friend call me an Obama lover, which contextually sounds like nigger lover. Honestly, the guy is so stupid it’s not a serious loss. Other white friends ROUTINELY share racist, bigoted propaganda on social media, with them actually taking refuge in racism, saying things with a false sense of shielding sarcasm, like:

“…but that would make me racist huh?”

“I’m gonna have to be racist…”

“….race baiting…”

If you were to look at the social media accounts of these radicalized white men, you’d think that American police forces are infallible, devoid of corruption — but federal (non-conservative) politicians are full of lies and deception. The list could go on.

America will talk all day about radical Islam and radical black speakers and writers. No one ever thinks to talk about white radicalization, which is a unique danger we’ve seen on this planet before.

Anyway, I do believe that there should be a discussion on this white radicalization process taking place. That conversation will have to be brutally honest. If this discussion doesn’t take place, feel free to catch up on fascism, because it’s what follows next.

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The Soul Brother #1 of a Kind. Consequentialist street photographer abolitionist writer/speaker who stands for any oppressed peoples. I do it because every man and woman deserves freedom of thought -- especially black folks.

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Thank you for your insightful post Mr. Silvercloud. While I appreciate several fellow readers posting references to the various watchgroups that keep track of white hate groups (like the Southern Poverty Law Center-a truly outstanding organization), I suspect you were writing to remind us about the subset of white people among us who are hateful and ignorant without belonging to any particular hate group or affliate. I know the people of whom you speak because we share a skin color but their hearts and minds and mine could not be further apart. It should go without saying that just because something ‘is’ does not make it ok but some folks need this pointed out which you have done very well. White people (and I include myself obviously) need to ask themselves when and where will they draw the line in the sand with what they will tolerate. When is it ok to look the other way when the harm being done doesn’t affect us (in my opinion the answer is never). I myself absolutely own the fact of my white privilege all day every day because I have personally witnessed how the opposite of this privilege plays out for my non-white friends when we are out together. To not acknowledge it would be adding insult to injury as far as I’m concerned. That would not be what I consider to be the behavior of a true friend.

The Southern Poverty Law Center cannot be called an outstanding organization as long as they refuse to apologize for putting Maajid Nawaz (a moderate Muslim reformer) on a list of anti-Muslim extremists. They are terrible and this was inexcusable, but they won’t even do anything to try and fix it.

Thank you for this article. We definitely are at a cross roads and I sure hope the radicals will loose this fight. Despite the “white radicalization” there is also a really broad coalition building happening among progressives, Muslims, LGBTQ, Blacks, Womyn, Native Americans, Asians and other minorities, and white allies that is heartening. We have to nurture this. An injury to one is an injury to all. In solidarity, Simin

WHY are YOU “SOUNDING” GUILTY? White PRIVILEGE “AND” RADICALIZATION is A FACT, THAT “NEEDS TO BE” addressed and discussed. “IGNORING IT LEADS TO FASCISM”!!! THAT “IS” the POINT of THIS ARTICLE. This sense of FRAGILE FEELINGS “EVERY TIME” THIS ISSUE IS PUT IN “WHITE” PEOPLES FACES, “ESPECIALLY” by BLACK PEOPLE, is YOUR B.S. WAY OF “IGNORING” THIS REALITY.

But that’s exactly the point. You no longer get a say in how you are regarded. Your individuality means nothing here. You, James, no longer get to present the fact that you’re probably a nice person, someone’s wonderful son, as the story of you. You’re just another white person.

Just like how, when I walk down the street, people don’t see me as someone who took over the household cooking and cleaning at 11 to help out my suddenly widowed mother, or who worked my ass off to get out of East LA and go to UC Berkeley on full scholarship. They just see another Asian girl, probably fresh off the boat, out to undercut your wages by working in a sewing sweatshop.

Funny thing is… I am white and feel as you do – EXCEPT – that I do not believe the column was grouping ME in with the racist people. I believe that what Mr. Silvercloud has stated is true – but I am not among those he characterizes as radicalized.

Why do you feel you are in that category. It NEVER occurred to me that I was. Because I am not.

I’m white and nothing in this article makes me feel like I’m apart of the white supremacists the writer is referring to. All whites are capable of prejudice and racism. All whites should feel responsible for the congenital bigotry/racism that plagues this nation since its discovery. Your comment just screams, “But I’m not racist! What about me!” While people of color are dying, struggling, etc. because of white privilege. Stop trying to make this all about you. White people are not the victims of white supremacy or suffer the burdens of it.

Thank you, sir, for your very eloquent essay!
You have expressed and elongated my angst, my fear so well. I am a white (I hate this adjective) woman but I know well of what you write. My mom raised us to challenge what we know is wrong. My 2 brothers and 2 sisters and I continue to live this way.
As a young child, I was teased because I was bused to a colored school and had n* friends. I did not like it then and I do not like it now.
I grew to be 6ft tall, so got mercilessly teased for that (and I wore glasses).
However I know these do not compare to the plight of black Americans.
Now there is a name for this donald trump phenomenon or infection, radicalized whites. Such a frightening phrase. Such a frightening times.
Your story brought to mind the Stephen King novel “the Stand”. Except in America’s story, those of us who are not infected, protect each other from the rest. I just hope good triumphs again over evil.
Please know that people of color are not alone. I have freckles, I am colorful, The rest of my family has freckles too! We stand with you!

I am white and the alt right makes me want to vomit. All of this white supremacist stuff makes me very uneasy. As long as any of us are not free all of us are not free. Thank you for your insight and keep reporting.

If, at every turn, the muslim community is accused of not doing enough to disavow every terrorist act, make public and turn in every instance of the spread of extremist rhetoric in their communities, and shoulder the blame for every act of religious barbarism in this world…the right-wing white christian male community has SOME FUCKING CATCHING UP TO DO.

Wow ! I didn’t know that. I guess at my age of 64 I will never see the end of this horrible thing called “Racism”. It makes me sick to my stomach, so I just pray for it to stop, and anyone speaking trash about so-called race, or religion, in front of me, will cop a tongue lashing they’ll be unlikely to forget.

53% of the women who voted. I think those White women aren’t much different than the White men who voted for Trump. How many are evangelical Christians? What this election also showed me is that religion is no longer important as any kind of moral compass if this part of the electorate could actually justify voting for Trump. What is left is fear and racism.

Many of so called do gooder whites still retain the privilege of deciding who is relavent to based on weather non whites accept their new found post racial hat trick. There may or may not be a biological basis for race. But there is certainly a cosmetic,social and experiential difference that is not going to evaporate just cuz some white folks decided that race is of no importance to how they navigate the world. Meanwhile,there are hundreds of years of relations with u guys that begs to differ. Embracing our shared humanity ends up white washing actual history And allowing whites to avoid a proper picture of themselves in the world. So hearing some of u get smug when a person of color is not having u being the decider in any area of human activity that involves them.

its just divide & conquer.i live in the southeast.i now feel apprehension when i’m in a black neighborhood cause i look like a refugee from duck dynasty.it’s comfortable.if i shave,cut my hair & buy some choppers i’ll still be old ,ugly &poor.but also a raging progressive.don’t let these super rich white supremists cause us to fight each other instead of them

I live in Deep South West Mississippi and you really want to know what is wrong with White People? A lot of us are tired of the Race Shit that N0bama started. YES HE DID start it!! Real White people are sick of this crap pushed down our throats. I am not a racist I have black friends and grew up with them over eating at our house and us at theirs even going on camping trips with them. I am sick of the equality not shown for White people. This isn’t the 60’s we have moved on just what Dr MLK wanted but some people don’t understand what he was talking about and I know he’s turning over in his grave right now. White people doesn’t have a 100 Organizations for us hell we don’t even have one and these days blacks want to talk about us not respecting their Civil Rights,what about ours?? We have one and after 8yrs being belittled by the N0bama administration we have gotten fed up with it. Call me racist,as you will, it is just a damn word and it doesn’t hurt because I know what I am and what I am not God knows this and that’s all that matters. Trump didn’t ask the ignorant Skin Heads to be there they showed up. I don’t believe anyone is Supreme and could care less but I will not bite my tongue when people think just because we are White we let people walk on us. You come at me right you get the respect you deserve but do not come to me with this Race Card shit. Man America is screwed when it comes to this generation leading the way. Do you really think the BLM cares that you’re there? They don’t even go to Black neighborhoods and help with the murder rate they just want to cause trouble and Riot and when they run out of stuff to Riot about then they will turn on you obedient White people just wait.

Southerner Gamer you are absolutely right. I’m a white person from Calif & I have black friends who I love dearly. We were all doing fine until Obama came into office & he started the racist thing after Treyvon Martin got killed. Al Sharpton also added fuel to the fire. This isn’t how Martin Luther King Jr wanted things to be. He did it peacefully. We can all blame Obama & the blacks should blame him too. What did he do for the Inner Cities when he was in office for 8 yrs? He didn’t help with the crime or for better education. Trump is definitely going to do that. But the protesting has to stop. What’s more when they protest in those areas they are destroying property of their own people. Black Lives Matter has not helped anything. I’m not a racist & I’m not a white supremacist either.

Martin Luther King was beaten and arrested for having the audacity to be treated like a human being. Trump’s first line of defense for our inner cities is more police officers–not jobs, not schools or books–more police. Obama could have done so much more if the white republican obstructionists hadn’t insisted in blocking his every move. I am also white, and originally from California by the way.

What the heck do you think President Obama “started” exactly? It seems that you seem to think that simply by becoming President, he insulted or encouraged racism. That’s absolutely not true. Those who had a problem with him becoming President were already racist, and they just couldn’t handle the fact that he won, twice.

President Obama didn’t talk about race issues any more than any previous President did, or would have, considering the backlash he received. In fact, a lot of people of color were upset that he wasn’t more proactive in dealing with the racism and hatred that spewed forth during those 8 years, put forth by those who claimed to be only against his politics, and yet they treated him worse than they treated any white Democratic president before him.

President Obama was simply an excuse for the disgusting underside of society that had been hiding under their rocks for a few years, to stick their heads back up, look around, and band together. And then they tried to blame him for their own reprehensible words and actions.

Oh and by the way, Racists SHOULD be belittled. They are scum and they need to be pushed back under those rocks, and I’d be happy to stomp on the rocks a few times once they’re there. Perhaps they’ll learn to keep their bigotry out of our politics.

Southern Gamer you are the guy this writer is talking about. This “race shit” you speak of did not come from Obama. It’s been here a long time. I am white and in my 50s (not with a capital W either) and I see it clearly. People like you who say “we don’t have special programs and holidays for whites” ARE racist. We also weren’t slaves, weren’t excluded from jobs, schools, drinking out of goddamn drinking fountains and aren’t currently “profiled” by police. I love people like you who say I have black friends. People say that about gays too but it doesn’t mean you know what it’s like to be discriminated against. People of other colors, gays, women don’t want to be “Supreme” or walk on us – they want to be able to walk among us and not be treated with discrimination. The bottom line is you don’t get it and you never will because you live in a different world – one of white privilege.

Wow…Obama started the “race shit?” You lost all credibility with that one statement. I am biting my tongue to keep from telling you what I think about that comment. Have you ever read “The Hill,” “The Federalist,” “PJ Media,” etc.? Ever listened to Fox News, Rush, Hannity, Beck, Coulton? They routinely preach the superiority of the white race. It’s true it’s a shame there has to be organizations designed to bring about equality. Equality is a birth right, and spelled out in our constitution. But as long as there is discrimination there has to be someone willing to help change it.

The big thing that people like you don’t seem to get is that by recognizing someone else’s equal rights in no way diminishes yours. When women are treated as equals, that doesn’t mean men lose anything. When any race is recognized as equal to the white race, whites in no way lose any right whatsoever. But you don’t want that. You still want to enjoy your illusion of superiority. Thus, you remain part of the problem.

OBAMA DIDN`T TURN YOUR WHITE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN ,IT WAS YOU WHO CUT YOUR OWN THROAT. WHITE PEOPLE WHO FLOCKED TO THE REPULSIVE PARTY DID SO BECAUSE THEY FEARED BLACKS GAINING SIMILAR PRIVILEGES AS THEY HAVE ENJOYED FOR YEARS. WHITE FEAR IS WHAT KEEPS WHITE PEOPLE WITH THE STATE OF MIND THAT THIE RIGHTS ARE BEING IGNORED. WHITE PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS HAD RIGHTS FROM THE BEGINNING ,EVER SINCE THEY SET FOOT IN OUR COUNTRY. BUT WHAT THEY FAILED TO REALIZE THAT THEY WERE GIVEN A BILL OF GOODS TO MAKE THEM FEEL SUPERIOR TO BLACKS AND THUS DIVIDE AND CONQUER FOR THE SAKE OF THE ELITE. WHEN WHITE EPEOPLE FLED TO THE REPULSIVE PARTY THE POLITICIANS RECOGNIZED THAT THEY HAD A WEALTH OF RACISTS AND BIGOTS TO USE FOR THEIR CAUSES. ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS MAKE WHITE FOLKS FEEL LIKE THEY WERE BEING IGNORED EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THOSE POLITICIANS WHO WERE DOING IT TO WHITE PEOPLE. WHITE PEOPLE HAVE YET TO SEE THAT THESE POLITICIANS HAVE USED THEM TO NO END IN DETSROYING THEM ALL THE WHILE HAVING THEM THINKING THEY ARE DOING THINGS FOR THEIR OWN SAKE. THEY PROMISE WHITE FOLKS ALL KIND OF THINGS THEY BITCH AND MOAN ABOUT IN ORDER TO GET ELECTED AND IN RETURN THOSE POLITICIANS GO BACK ON THEIR PROMISES. GEORGE WALLACE FIGURED OUT WHEN HE WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT THAT WHITE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THE POOR AND UNEDUCATED WERE THE BEST TO BRAINWASH AND INSTILL FEAR INTO AND BRING OUT THEIR RACISM AND BIGOTRY FOR VOTING PURPOSES. HE THEN PASSED IT ON TO NIXON AND HE CALLED IT THE SOUTHERN STRATEGY WHICH MEANT THAT THE REPULSIVE PARTY HAD ESTABLISH A NEW FORM OF POLITICS WHERE THEY COULD RELY ON POOR, UNEDUCATE, OLD RACIST AND BIGOTED WHITES FOR VOTES. DOANLD TRUMP PLAYED IT GREAT IN USING WHITES WHO WERE ANGRY ABOUT THE SYSTEM BUT HE FAILED TO MENTION THAT IT WAS NOT THE PRESIDENT WHO WAS KEEPING WHITES POOR , IN POVERTY AND UNEDUCATED, THE PRESIDENT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH AFFECTING THE LIVES OF WHITE PEOPLE, BUT IT WAS THOSE WHO WHITE PEOPLE VOTED TO STAY IN OFFICE. THE LIKES OF MITCH MCCONNELL AND PAUL RYAN WHO OPPOSED PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR ALL OF HIS ATTEMPTS TO MAKE MAERICANS PROPSER AND BRING THE MIDDLE CLASS BACK TO WHERE THEY WERE DURING THE BILL CLINTON ERA. REPULSIVE POLITICIANS KNOW THAT FOR THEM TO STAY IN OFFICE AND MAKE MILLIONS THEY NEED TO KEEP WHITE FOLKS ANGRY AND THINKING THAT IT IS OTHERS WHO ARE DOING IT TO THEM. I GET TIRED OF HEARING WHITE FOLKS SAY THEY ARE NOT RACIST AND THEY HAVE BLACK FRIENDS ,AND SO DID SLAVE OWNERS WHO HAD PLENTY OF BLACK FRIENDS BUT DID NOT WISH TO SEE THEM FREE . AS LONG AS WHITE PEOPLE FEAR THEIR PRIVILEGES ARE IN DANGER THEY GET ANGRY, SCARED, AND PLUM CRAZY. THEY SEEK A SOLUTION AS TO HOW TO MAKE THEIR LIVES EVEN MORE MISERABLE AND WITH THE HELP OF THOSE POLITICIANS THEY VOTE FOR THE SUCCEED IN DOING SO. THE RICH WHITE MEN DON`T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHITE FOLKS WHO DON`T FIT IN THEIR CLUB, NOR DO THEY WISH TO INVITE THEM INTO THEIR CLUB. THE RICH WHITES NEED ONLY TO KEEP POOR WHITES ANGRY AND DESPERATE ENOUGH TO KEEP VOTING THEM INTO OFFICE SO THEY CAN KEEP THEM MISERABLE AND THE MORE MISERABLE THEY GET THE MORE THEY STAY IN OFFICE. THIS IS A PERFECT PLAN DEISGNED BY SOME OF THE MOST DEVIOUS POLITICIANS EVER TO RUN FOR OFFICE. GEORGE WALLACE, NIXON, REAGAN AND THE BUSHES HAVE CAPATILIZED ON THE IGNORANCE OF WHITE FOLKS SIMILAR TO THE DAYS WHEN BLACKS WERE BROUGH THERE NOT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE UP AGAINST. WHITE POLITICIANS KNOW IT IS BETTER FOR THEIR CAUSES TO DIVIDE AND CONQUER THAN TO HAVE THE MASSES STAND TOGETHER. THE REPULSIVE PARTY WNATS ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY AND THAT IS TO CREATE WHAT THEY CALL….THE NEW WORLD ORDER…..TWO CLASSES OF PEOPLE…THE POOR AND THE RICH…SO WHICH CLASS DO YOU THINK YOU WILL FALL IN WHEN IT IS ALL SAID AND DONE? WHITE EPOPELARE NOT THE SMARTEST AND BRIGHTEST,NOR ARE THEY SUPERIOR WITHOUT BEING TOLD THAT THEY ARE. ONE COLOR DOES NOT MAKE ONE SMART, NOR DOES ONE COLOR MAKE ONE SPERIOR BUT IT DOES MAKE THEM PUPPETS FOR OTHERS TO USE. THE ONLY REASON WHITE FOLKS LOVE BEING WHITE IS FOR ONE REASON AND ONE REASON ONLY AND THAT IS WHITE PRIVILEGE. IF IT WASN1T FOR THAT BIT OF ADVANTAGE WE ALL WOULD BE SEEN AS EQUAL….WHCIH I HAVE SEEN IT ALL MY DAYS AS ABLACK MAN….DUH?????

All whites right? I don’t recall any exceptions in your article. The only actual specificity that you use is the a woman bowing to Trump, which really tells no story at all. I’m not going to go on defense of tirade. I think that’s what you want. I can’t decide if you actually you think you are helping the problem by making white people evil. Do you think your viewpoint helps the black race ? That’s a rhetorical question.

Have you even investigated how many black cops have been involved in similar circumstances as the white cops? Have you actually spoken to any black cops in any City? The research could surprise you. There’s a reason why you don’t hear from black cops on these issues and it’s because they are caught in the middle.

Did you see the speech by Jon Stewart about how anyone who voted for Trump is a monolith? You sound just like him. Or maybe he sounds just like you. I’m not sure anymore. I think it’s a case of you read what you want to read watch what you want to watch so that you can hear what you want to hear and see what you want to see. Justify Your Own Way of being and I’m only assuming that . Obviously I don’t have the facts so it would be irresponsible of me to generalize wouldn’t it?

How about challenging yourself? You know doing the hard work about some investigative reporting. That’s the first thing they teach you in college is that a validate resources and speak from both sides of the fence. Isn’t that what journalists are trained to do? This is a one-sided hate article.

I have never been present to the ideology of white supremacy, because I am not a white supremacist. There’s never been a day in my life when I’ve ever thought of myself as any better, more qualified or less scared of being pulled over than my wife, best friend or anyone else of color in my 49 years and that includes my time serving in the US Army. The army employs far more blacks than whites. Over 70% of the US Army is black.

Anyone I’ve ever associated with who has ever breathed a word of contempt or who makes a”generalization” unapologetically about my race or my wife’s or any other for that matter are cast from my acquaintance followed by my sentiments. I’ve heard it all: reverse discrimination, cracker, honkey and I have been overlooked for promotion several times by black superiors hiring black employees.

Generalizing and otherwise lumping whites together as having white privilege is absurd and irresponsible. The only people who could possibly respect you after reading this article could only possibly be haters like yourself or people who lack a solid self identity. But I’m going to challenge that and give you the benefit of the doubt and invite you into my home. I’m a white man who has lived in black families since 1989 to present. And I am not the exception.

You may be articulate, but you’re inaccurate. If you were to get to know me a little bit and get to know my family and the many many other people I have associated with over the last four decades you will find that your generalizations can only set everyone backwards. You offer no solutions-like you have all the answers. You just bitch and whine about a social problem you think you have no control over. Helpless. You sound helpless. Are you helpless? I don’t think you are and I don’t think you want to portray that.

You wrote an awfully open and certainly colorful article. It’s really just ugly. I think you hide behind your pen because you probably don’t have the guts to hear the other side, for whatever reason that could be. I know I personally have done the work and have demonstrated the willingness to really get involved and do the absolute best I can two understand the other side and defend people on their merit regardless of their race.
You are no more qualified to understand what it’s like to be a white person, radicalist or not than any white person could understand what it’s like to be discriminated against as black person. But you sure do make yourself sound like a seasoned expert because you published an article and took some pictures; conveniently catering to your agenda by linking them together to make them mean what you want them to mean. You look like an opportunistic angry black man who has an ax to grind with a pen.

I’ll tell you the same thing I tell my biracial children. If you’re not doing something to contribute to the greater good for yourself your family and Society then you are a cancer in society. All your unsubstantiated hyperbole does is recruit people who think like you and agree with you which promotes inaccurate descriptions reinforcing backwards-ass norms about people who are stereotypical. Your generalizations apply to small groups in very specific subcultures.

If you’re as open-minded as you try to make yourself sound, I’m calling you out on it. Give me a call, send me an email, pay me a visit and we’ll see how open-minded you really are. Or maybe you are just a hypocrite. Then again I’m open to being wrong and writing a story that promotes the good about whomever you are. Prove me wrong. Put your money where your mouth and pen are come down to Northern Virginia and do a follow-up story. I don’t see how you could be respected otherwise.

let’s break this down. I’m gonna respond in caps but I’m not yelling. There doesn’t seem to be a way to format this on this site.

Dear Soul Brother #1,

All whites right? I don’t recall any exceptions in your article. The only actual specificity that you use is the a woman bowing to Trump, which really tells no story at all. I’m not going to go on defense of tirade. I think that’s what you want. I can’t decide if you actually you think you are helping the problem by making white people evil. Do you think your viewpoint helps the black race ? That’s a rhetorical question.

– This isn’t a rhetorical question. It’s a series of accusatory text about how the writer is defending blacks and painting whites as villains. You just worded it in the form of a question and saying it’s rhetorical so that you won’t get a response to the clear aggression.

1) Nobody said anything about defending one race over the other. The writer is simply pointing out that he believes there is a topic that isn’t being discussed which is that whites are accusing everything from blacks and muslims to illegal immigrants as being problems when it may be them that’s the problem.

2) This appears to be an op-ed piece. I’m going to assume you know what means. It isn’t a news report. I was brought to this link by a friend and just reading the site name I could tell what I was getting into just as I can tell what I’m getting into by going to a site called Breitbart. This is very clearly not a place to expect hard painstaking research and evidence. That’d be nice of course, so I’ll try and get you some for all the stuff you talk about later in this page. I’m going to do so by literally googling everything you talk about so that’ll have to do. I’m not a journalist but most of the information you demand or spout can most usually be fact checked or given in a minute or two.

Have you even investigated how many black cops have been involved in similar circumstances as the white cops? Have you actually spoken to any black cops in any City? The research could surprise you. There’s a reason why you don’t hear from black cops on these issues and it’s because they are caught in the middle.

– There is no discussion about police violence in this piece. The writer has not stated any thoughts or opinions about this topic you’re ranting about. The topic is not about violence statistics, it’s about the portrayal of certain demographics such as muslims and blacks as ‘radicals’ while there is no dialogue of how whites might actually be the ‘radicals’ since they are in fact, targeting said minorities. The author simply wants to put out that thought and address what he believes are dangerous mentalities that are beginning to show itself after the election. So, I have no idea where you were trying to go with this point.

Did you see the speech by Jon Stewart about how anyone who voted for Trump is a monolith? You sound just like him. Or maybe he sounds just like you. I’m not sure anymore. I think it’s a case of you read what you want to read watch what you want to watch so that you can hear what you want to hear and see what you want to see. Justify Your Own Way of being and I’m only assuming that . Obviously I don’t have the facts so it would be irresponsible of me to generalize wouldn’t it?

– Pretty heavy disdain for these two guys huh? Again, nothing of substance in this paragraph. You aren’t bringing counter points or arguments. Just accusing the writer of being irresponsible and trying to simply begin a dialogue because he doesn’t have hard facts. Some people would find this ironic because of the very little amount of true facts being spouted by what you could call the other side of this argument. Also funny because the rhetoric on the other side is much more inflammatory and much less reasonable to have a conversation with in my experience. There’s a lot of paragraphs of yours that are basically constructed to say “fuck you” while offering no real discussion of anything countering the proposed idea.

How about challenging yourself? You know doing the hard work about some investigative reporting. That’s the first thing they teach you in college is that a validate resources and speak from both sides of the fence. Isn’t that what journalists are trained to do? This is a one-sided hate article.

– Like stated before, this is an op-ed piece. People are entitled to thoughts. Accusing some leftist writers who are clearly writing an opinion of not citing sources is a bit foolish and also a double standard as right wing sites have all but ignored citing sources for facts they spew. There’s no hate in the article. Simply an observation of general negative trend. There’s no part of this article saying whites are in fact evil and no speech about how we should shame them or ‘get them’. He literally “says can we talk about this” at the end and that he thinks this is simply a potential issue worth discussing.

*** also, I love all this challenge yourself stuff you’re ranting about. Yet we’re going to continue with this dissection and see how much actual thought you’re putting in on the other end of this conversation ***

I have never been present to the ideology of white supremacy, because I am not a white supremacist. There’s never been a day in my life when I’ve ever thought of myself as any better, more qualified or less scared of being pulled over than my wife, best friend or anyone else of color in my 49 years and that includes my time serving in the US Army. The army employs far more blacks than whites. Over 70% of the US Army is black.

( I’m not a racist, but…)
– Very clearly wrong. roughly 70% of the military is white with just as high a percentage of whites making up high ranking positions. Google it and cite your sources for this fact you’re giving. Here’s mine, flip through it for the rest. It’s roughly 2 years old but you can search more if you want as I’ve found similar results for more recent years. The websites are just less handy for this specific citing.

Anyone I’ve ever associated with who has ever breathed a word of contempt or who makes a”generalization” unapologetically about my race or my wife’s or any other for that matter are cast from my acquaintance followed by my sentiments. I’ve heard it all: reverse discrimination, cracker, honkey and I have been overlooked for promotion several times by black superiors hiring black employees.

– That’s a bummer. I’ll take your word for it in terms of what’s actually described here. If true that sucks. Racism sucks. Literally nobody said it doesn’t. And don’t take this the wrong way as it’s not accusing you of anything, but experiencing racism does not exempt you from being racist. Just because something racist happens to me doesn’t mean I can’t also be racist and take it out on someone else. The statements made have no bearing on the idea being discussed as both can be true. Yes there can and are racist black people. That isn’t a counter to the statement that some whites are being radicalized.

Generalizing and otherwise lumping whites together as having white privilege is absurd and irresponsible. The only people who could possibly respect you after reading this article could only possibly be haters like yourself or people who lack a solid self identity. But I’m going to challenge that and give you the benefit of the doubt and invite you into my home. I’m a white man who has lived in black families since 1989 to present. And I am not the exception.

– He isn’t lumping them all together. Much like if you were to read an article stating that a muslim ban is promoting radicalization among muslims. The statement doesn’t read “All whites are radicalized” just as the the previous assertion doesn’t read as “All muslims are radicalized”. I’ll say it again I guess…. but the intent of the piece was to state a perceived trend/observation. Nobody else is taking this article as a blanket all statement saying all white people are radicalized. This isn’t a personal attack on you and your family. Relax and try to keep an open mind to what is actually being said.

You may be articulate, but you’re inaccurate. If you were to get to know me a little bit and get to know my family and the many many other people I have associated with over the last four decades you will find that your generalizations can only set everyone backwards. You offer no solutions-like you have all the answers. You just bitch and whine about a social problem you think you have no control over. Helpless. You sound helpless. Are you helpless? I don’t think you are and I don’t think you want to portray that.

– No claim of accuracy given. Again, op-ed and just a piece wanting to open a dialogue. This whole bit you wrote seems to feel like you take this article as a personal attack on who you are. It’s not. It’s literally not about you or anyone specifically. It’s about a trend the author perceives to be happening globally within the white community which he feels is being left out of conversation.

I’m telling you man, it’s really hard to read through your stuff because it’s a never ending loop of “you don’t know me” and calling the author a little whiner. Is commenting on a perceived social problem bad to you? Bringing up something that you think is plaguing our community but not having the answer is “helpless”? He’s literally trying to contribute by bringing up the mentioned problem which he feels people are ignoring. And to counter all of this repetitive nonsense, what exactly are you contributing? Do you NOT think this is an actual problem? Where’s your research and counter evidence? Where’s all the facts backing up whatever you’re actually trying to claim with this rant of yours? If the overarching statement of all this is simply that you think the writer is wrong in his assertion then tell us why and what you have that defends that statement.

I keep saying this is an op-ed piece but yea, facts are always nice to have to back things up. So at the very least you are being just as lazy as the author of this piece by just typing a rant with no structure, no counter arguments, no solutions, and no facts.

You wrote an awfully open and certainly colorful article. It’s really just ugly. I think you hide behind your pen because you probably don’t have the guts to hear the other side, for whatever reason that could be. I know I personally have done the work and have demonstrated the willingness to really get involved and do the absolute best I can two understand the other side and defend people on their merit regardless of their race.
You are no more qualified to understand what it’s like to be a white person, radicalist or not than any white person could understand what it’s like to be discriminated against as black person. But you sure do make yourself sound like a seasoned expert because you published an article and took some pictures; conveniently catering to your agenda by linking them together to make them mean what you want them to mean. You look like an opportunistic angry black man who has an ax to grind with a pen.

– Literally just calling names in this paragraph. Calling the writer a coward for pointing out something he thinks is happening. Ignoring all the typos here, here’s the problem. You said you’ve done the work and demonstrated willingness to get involved and understand both sides. But you literally spent this whole time making personal attacks on the author, essentially ignoring what was stated in the article which again was a calmly stated opinion, and offered up no actual counter point besides straight criticism. Just attacks and belittlement with nothing to actually contribute and it’s certainly not what an actual open minded person would do. If you’re open minded, you would actually have a conversation about what’s being discussed, and respond to the words being said over name calling and insults. At no point in your piece did you thoughtfully produce a counter argument about why you disagree.

I’ll tell you the same thing I tell my biracial children. If you’re not doing something to contribute to the greater good for yourself your family and Society then you are a cancer in society. All your unsubstantiated hyperbole does is recruit people who think like you and agree with you which promotes inaccurate descriptions reinforcing backwards-ass norms about people who are stereotypical. Your generalizations apply to small groups in very specific subcultures.

– Biracial children has nothing to do with anything. It feels almost like a literal shield so that you can spout something else after. Go on, take that first sentence out of this statement. Starts to feel a lot more like hate speech.

If you’re as open-minded as you try to make yourself sound, I’m calling you out on it. Give me a call, send me an email, pay me a visit and we’ll see how open-minded you really are. Or maybe you are just a hypocrite. Then again I’m open to being wrong and writing a story that promotes the good about whomever you are. Prove me wrong. Put your money where your mouth and pen are come down to Northern Virginia and do a follow-up story. I don’t see how you could be respected otherwise.

-Big man daring someone to come meet me in the parking lot. Prove you wrong? What is there to prove wrong. You’ve literally said nothing but attacks in this essay you’ve constructed. And to be clear, although I think the writer believes himself to be open minded, I don’t recall ever reading in this article an actual statement from him declaring he is open minded. Not that that has anything to do with the actual debate he’s seemingly trying to begin.

phew. Get back to me on this. Because unless this is just a by product of being inarticulate, there doesn’t seem to be anything in your words resembling open mindedness or the desire to actually discuss whether or not “white radicalization” is occurring.

You want brutal honesty? Those most directly responsible for “white” radicalization are movements like social justice, black lives matter, intersectional feminism, etc. These people insist on drawing lines and making distinctions between “races.” They insist on labeling, and grouping, and categorizing. They insist on assigning privilege based on superficial appearance. And they are in many cases rabidly, passionately, vocally, unashamedly racist. And they can’t even see it. They will say the most hateful, disgusting, racist thing ever… and then follow it up with some rationalization that it’s okay such as… it’s impossible for non-“white”s to be racist so therefore such statements are not racist. Or it’s okay to “punch up” just don’t “punch down” (generalize and stereotype about who you believe to be “privileged”, based on one glance at their skin tone, and then it’s permissible to say anything you want about them). This zero sum identity politics only serves to divide people, to exacerbate existing problems and to create new ones. Of course in this climate the “white” people who before never really thought about race, never felt that being “white” was somehow important to their identity, never thought that equality was somehow a threat to them… of course they will be “radicalized.” And his article is going to get shared and reposted by the same sort of “White”-hating faux-liberals who have created this problem, and used as more fuel for the fire, even while they angrily deny that it’s their own damn fault.

The white minority you are speaking about have been around for years and have been marginalized by society and liberalism and progressive thinking and integration.
However give them a champion who have them a voice however narcissistic and masochistic and Machiavellian he may be and they will come out do the dark holes, caves and cracks their society’s have been meeting in secret for for decades . We are not all radicalized or want to be or are smug because Asian people change their eye shape cosmetically and because black people straighten their hair. I used to perm my hair I don’t think that’s a sign I hated my race but wanted to try a popular hair style and look like a Jackson in the 80’s. Just as all black people were not black panther activists in the 60’s and just as all Germans were not Nazis and all Russians were not Marxists not all white people favor supremacism. I should know I was born inSpith Africa and witnessed the shameful effects of apartheid. ‘Most sane educated and reasonable and non right wing white people were shamed of our government and police system. Those same white people peacefully and without coalition voted out the system of apartheid installed by the radical right wing government who clung to power with force and brutality, when we were given the opportunity to do so by ballot of the majority and also peacefully voted to free Nelson Mandela when given the opportunity to cast their vote again. In doing so we became one of the only European colonialized African countries to peacefully hand over the military seat of power and rule to the black majority without a civil war or blood shed. More than can be said of other African nations who have slaughtered neighboring tribes and fellow black citizens during outbreaks of genocidal and xenophobic epidemics once the colonial governments were toppled. The Hutsis and Tsustis are but one example.
So radicalization of whites and blacks and nations is not new , but it is always to be vigilantly followed and monitored and trends tracked because as you know the effects of that uncontrolled
Right wing fanaticism giving way to a ground swell movement left unchecked can spill out from one nation into others and destabilize a region , country and entire continent and can bring the entire world to war. We all live in fear of radical people the world over irrespective or color creed or race or religion or country of origin because we do not understand what motivates them to not want to uphold the principles of democracy, freedom of speech the basic rights of all man to liberty and life and pursuit of happiness and tolerance of ones fellow man, their skin color, sexual orientation, religion , age , education or opinion or socioeconomic status or language or physical or genetic makeup . No I don’t understand it either but I’ve lived through one regime topple and another first black president only to be replaced by the worst president and yet all those same values we cherish as a nation will rebalance and the pendulum swing back to midline . They worry me too as I think of sheets and cut out eye holes and burning crosses and that is a sad state of affairs but they will stay in hiding when faced with the majority of the nation not tolerating their views and acts and actions.
So if any of your white friends offend you and are insensitive to your feelings it’s probably because they haven’t walked in a black mand shoes and only you can help them do that vicariously.

This is a load of shit. I’m white and I don’t enjoy toe take a sick pride from knowing any of the things you mention. You’re just racist mate simple as that. We aren’t all the same you know. Idiot. Just muddying the waters and making the world an even worse place despite generations of efforts by white people alongside people of colour for equality. We all won that battle and we all wanted the same thing.

I did not see anyplace in the article where the author inferred “all white people are rascist”. I don’t understand why you interpreted it that way. Maybe you could write out the sentences that made you feel that way? Thank you.

As an LGBT person, I totally get you. I can blend, because standing up every day, and saying, “not straight” to every new person I meet is frankly exhausting. Especially to a nominally introverted person.

But I am highly likely to jump down someone’s throat when they are being a biggoted pig. I got that joy today. Something about boycotting Starbucks for denying Americans jobs. But yeah, not all white people are trash, just the sheeple.

You need some new white friends! And you’re wrong about white people not feeling the need to apologise for our own colour’s behaviour/attitudes. I am routinely shocked and disappointed by resurgence of a racism I used to believe had died long ago, and since Brexit in the UK, I have felt nothing but shame for a massive chunk of my countrymen’s ignorance and stupidity.

I certainly never feel any kind of sick smugness, but I guess thinking about it, it’s just not something we ever have to really give much thought to. Is that what you’d call white privilege?

This is why it’s so shocking to me when I experience racism or bigotry; it’s like – what is this attitude? Where did this come from? I thought we’d all evolved – but no. Maybe I’m niaive.

It is true though, that the concept of white supremecy and extreme right-wing values, which do definitely affect me as a woman, seem to be on the rise, and appear to be somehow acceptable to a large number of society.

This is a real step backwards for humanity, and something I personally find really frightening, completely unfathomable, and very, very sad.

Lisa P, your paragraph above exactly describes white privilege. We have the “privilege” to be oblivious to the racism around us because it isn’t directed at us. This often causes us to feel outraged when people of color bring the racism in our culture to our attention because, hey! what racism?! And we get defensive, as you see in these posts. It is our responsibility if we really are against racism to make the effort to see it especially since it doesn’t affect us directly. It isn’t easy nor is it comfortable but it is what must be done.

Thank you for writing this very insightful article. You verbalize here what has been bothering me since the Reagan administration. It itches, and I couldn’t quite reach it.

Finally, when President Obama was elected, it became clear we were looking at an extreme. Too many white people (I am white) were walking around with their privilege and their hate on their sleeves. On a daily basis, I never noticed my privilege, and now, many white people are rubbing my nose in it.

I don’t understand how white people can walk around and be bothered by others because they are “others”. I’ve never really been able to grasp why and how they feel that way.

On the other hand, I certainly understand why non-whites see it – they are the targets of the hate.

Now, we are in “trump world”, where it is worse than being written on a sleeve.

A very gentle friend of mine was involved in a nasty incident just after the last election. She works in the offices of a church in Tempe, AZ. She was accosted (the best word I can find) by an angry, older white man as she was working.

He was driving by when he noticed the rainbow flag waving in the breeze over the church. He stopped the car, turned around, and went into the building.

He told her (paraphrasing) that gays are disgusting and shouldn’t exist (basically), and if the church was to continue to bare this flag, he would go to the police and tell them that there was child abuse and pornography in this church.

Before he left, he told her that he had seen the flag many times and never said anything, but that he had been emboldened by donald trump to say these things he was feeling.

This wonderful woman, this gentle young soul, was confronted with hate in a manner unheard of by her and me since the 60s. I can’t even tell you how upset this made me, and there’s no way I can imagine how she felt.

I am an older white man. I guess I was raised differently than the hateful man who entered that church. I am thankful for that.

But I am at a loss as to how I fight this. I made a promise to myself that I would not suffer bullies, that I would call out bullies whenever and wherever I find them.

Calling them out, though, doesn’t really appear to affect them. It doesn’t change the way they behave, except that now they hate me, too.

I will continue to defend others when I see them being mistreated, but we as a society must address this at a more visceral level. Somehow, we have to deal with this in a way that doesn’t drive these feelings back underground.

Until we truly address all the issues that caused the Civil War, we will fight this battle every day.

You nailed it. I’d only add that I am incredibly ashamed to be associated with them because of my whiteness. I struggle to stay focused on eliminating my own faulty behaviors in the moment to moment shitstorm that is the Trump experience. Good luck, everyone.

When referencing the senseless murders of unarmed black men my white ex said, “every single one of those n*ggers deserves to die”. I called him a racist white supremacist and he lashed-out on me. “How could I be a racist when I married someone like you?” (I’m Korean). Needless to say, he didn’t get it. He yelled vehemently that he endured the same hardships as every black man in America, yet he comes from an upper-class white family and currently lives in a $2.5 million dollar mansion. His mother’s father and grandfather were prominent members of the KKK.
I’ve come to the realization that the majority of white Americans inherently have a sense of entitlement, much like the millemials of today, only far more demanding of respect and an even stronger dissent for equality. Equality is a completely foreign concept because they will always hold themselves as the highest standard.
I’m glad someone is bringing this shameful reality to light. It’s a pandemic at this point, I’ve lost a few friendships over their overt racism, and really, am not missing out on much.

Holy cow. Came from an upper middle class family but endured the same hardships? I would say he’s delusional but he has a lot of company. I went to an upper middle class high school (outside Houston where the astronauts lived), and they too cannot see any difference or privilege. Glad he is your ex!

As a white person…….honestly, I don’t think of these things at all. Ever. I go to work, I put food on the table for my kid, I go to bed. Donning the social justice warrior mantle is for those that have tons of spare time on their hands.

Yes thank you for the article. I think tons of us are afraid of white radicalism right now. I know many women were matching last week for women’s rights, but almost everyone I knew and saw were marching against “white radicalism” exactly and to promote equality for all.

The thing is it’s not a color thing because there are misguided Hispanics/Latinos and yes even some Black/African Americans who are invovled in what this guy calls “white radicalization.”

Sorry if I’m going to offend any of your friends with my next words but making it a color issue is as ridiculous as saying all Muslims are terrorists.

I know it’s harder to say ignorant and uneducated because those can be hard to prove but making it solely based on color and ignoring and not holding those included in the “white radicalization” is irresponsible.

I watched this happen with my father, and it has been so sad. I grew up in a predominantly white suburb, and it was through my father that I first met and played with Mexican children who spoke so differently than I did, attended summer barbecues with black people (whose children my father has to explain were just like me and I should just go play with them already), and who taught me that regardless of skin color or native language I could talk to and make friends with anyone. This man, more than my ultra progressive white mother, was actually going out there and actively making friends with people of all ethnicities and nationalities, and I see him as the one who guided me out of my white fog and into clarity about how much better life is if you are unafraid of people who initially seem different from you. His descent into white nationalism is terrifying and dangerous and it breaks my heart.
I won’t make any excuses for him, but if we’re talking about how it happened, I’ll share how I think it went down with my dad.
It started with a few liked and shared posts on facebook about gratitude for our military veterans. Inocuous enough. Then some about thanking our police officers. But facebook’s algorithms make it so that when you like and share things, it pops up more blogs and memes along the same lines. White nationalist propaganda blogs love nothing more than police officers in the U.S. and military action in Islamic countries. He goes clicking away on these sites and over the course of about a year my dad turns into a Muslim-fearing, slut shaming birther who without fail supports all police action against “thugs” (while obviously having no problem with the white “protesters” who instigate armed takeovers of U.S. government buildings). He fell for all of it. “Black men and Muslims are coming for your white women! Thank god for the police who protect them!” “Build a wall to keep out rapists! (Gotta protect your white women)” “Obama is a dog eating secret Muslim! (Look at this one picture that we post on every article about Obama. Might be altered in some way, maybe it’s a still from a video where the president looked stern for a minute, but doesn’t he look JUST LIKE the anti-christ?!)”
My dad read all of the conservative click-bait and fell onto a white nationalist rabbit hole. These propagandists use the fear white people often innately have of losing their privileged place and expand on it, convincing them that losing their supreme white citizen status will result in their families being enslaved, forced to worship Allah while their daughters are brood mares for black men. You’re right, they do find comfort in white supremacy. In watching the decline of my dad it’s been clear as day that the level of comfort he feels in it is only amplified by the fear injected into him by white nationalist propaganda. He actually believes he is protecting his family with this worldview.
I don’t know what to do about it. I have failed. By the time I started pointing out that the information he was reading was false, that quotations from Obama were taken out of context (by posting full context from decent sources), and that he was posting articles from neo-Nazi hate groups, it was too late. He knew they were white supremacists, and he was just fine with that. He’s throwing in with them for the foreseeable future. My concerns as his daughter fall on deaf ears now. I’m a snowflake millenial who needs to realize I don’t always get what I want. Apparently at the age of 34 I’m a stupid kid and I need to let the older white men do the thinking for my own good.
My dad isn’t the only one. When I called out extended family members from the rust belt on their “heritage not hate” defense of the confederate flag by posting photos of a neo-Nazi rally in South Carolina (with swastika flags next to confederate ones), I was told that black nationalists were going to kill my son. Many of these white family members raised their children on welfare, but like true white people they see themselves as “temporarily embarrassed millionaires” and blast anyone of color who needs this same social safety net. They mistakenly believe we live in a meritocracy, so they easily buy into any line of thought that defends their poor white asses by creating a scapegoat in people of color. In their minds they are hard working, god fearing, white christians, and if they don’t have everything they deserve in life it’s because a godless brown person took it. This brings them comfort because in a culture which demeans the poor it’s nice for them to feel that they aren’t at fault.
Propaganda certainly has been around longer than facebook. But social media helped it reach my dad in ways that I don’t think it would have before, and it’s helped my far away family spread it through dog whistles in the form of memes about welfare and “thugs”.

Lindsay, thank you for sharing this unhappy story. A friend of a friend fell into the same trap via right wing radio programs. I’m beginning to think there is some brain wiring mechanism at work here, possibly involving paranoia… Some of us that love cultural diversity in our lives cannot relate to the choice to reject this richness..on purpose! I come from long lines of dirt farmers on both sides of the family which has included some racism but thankfully for most of them their Christian faith keeps them on ethical high ground. It is indeed painful when that is not the case.

I am so sorry. Sometimes you just have to let some family members go. I’ve let me 100yo grandmother go because I can’t take her hatefulness. I don’t know how old your dad is…but this sounds more like mental illness. Of course with so many older men going this route…is it conservative “media” or is it mass mental illness?

I guess no white folks are disenfranchised… white ghettos in Ohio….rural poor living in crumbling trailer parks…
Its just a different falvor of classism…that’s what this is really about. Do you think Oprah or Kareem ever have these issues? probably not..

You know I think the difference is minority communities have been talking a long time about the lack of opportunities and jobs. When black people say it they are told to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps (even if you have no bootstraps to pull up). Work hard. CREATE your own opportunities. Stop being lazy.

But when white people talk about how there are no jobs or opportunities they blame the establishment. I think the key word here is ENTITLEMENT. For whites, they feel ENTITLED to well-paying jobs and opportunities. So when the same thing starts happening to them that’s been happening to minority communities for decades they start crying about how things are unfair and unjust.

What Trump voters are too dumb to understand is, their white skin doesn’t automatically entitle them to shit. There is a rift in this country and there are two sides to it. The rich and the poor. The rich are getting richer by the second and the rest of us? Well the rest of us are at the bottom. Your white skin doesn’t guarantee you automatic wealth and I think that’s what they are really pissed off about Being treated the way they have treated minorities for years.

If you have ever wondered why most white people think and act the way they do regarding race, it really boils down to two things they are taught at a very young age and are constantly reminded of through major social and media outlets:

1. White people created America and made it what it is and therefore belong here

2. Fear every other race collectively and on an individual level

That’s the recipe. That’s what motivates everything from casual racism to shootings. Fear and a sense of righteousness.

If you follow the trail of who perpetuates these ideas in history books, advertising and sitcoms there is an answer and it’s a very small group of people. That’s a bit of a rabbit hole though and not for everyone.

wow. that’s some racist stuff. I teach an art class and what I encounter very often when we do self portraits is the inevitable white girls who “hate their white skin.” Agreed we need to combat the foolish idea that melanin content of skin and hair follicles has anything to do with character and culture. People have all sorts of reasons to feel the way they do, and that includes white folks. Want to see oppression? All you have to do is look. Everyone gets it. But if you want to single some group out as “more oppressed than,” that game seems to me to be a lose-lose. actual Justice is much different than social justice. Actual justice is BLIND to identity. When we bring it in, we move away from justice. Murder, i.e., intentionally killing someone, is wrong. It’s not “more wrong” because someone had an emotional state about it, or because the victim was a member of some identity group. Come on, people. The last thing we need to be doing is stoking identity-based resentment.

Kathy Flynn Kelly, It is true and it should be talked about. I have seen this in my own family and am truly baffled by their views. I am white and you should hold whites accountable for other whites racist views. My relationship is strained with one of my sisters because of her bias and racist views. I may love her but I am truly frightened as a white person by her and other white peoples views. There is no excuse for it, its unacceptable and I speak out whenever I am confronted with someones bigotry. I realize that just confronting someone with their bigotry isn’t enough anymore and am looking for ways to help support Black Lives Mater, Muslims, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans. I am one who doesn’t get out there and protest but I realize that I am going to have to overcome my fear and stand up for what is right. So go ahead and hold whites accountable for other whites. And that includes me too.

There are some good resources online for those wanting to be allies for people that may be vulnerable to bullying. I’ve been reading as many sources as possible and am relieved to say that the suggestions tend to be non-aggressive and manage to allow the “victim” of a bullying incident to express whether or not they consent to enlisting the aid of an ally.

It’s all too easy for anyone not understanding another race, to make their own conclusions based on their life experiences. It’s doubled down when you you cannot draw a proper end to all racial differences, so you fill it in with what suits you and your followers. See where I’m going wit this. It’s happening on both sides. Just like that ole saying, it takes two to tango. No race is free from responsibility here. I see blacks who do not get involved in black crime. I see whites who do not get involved with white crimes as well. Most find these subjects to deep and do not want to be bothered with them. Either works, or life schedules often dictate. These discussions on both sides will only take place with people who live with an racial eye in life and in the very thing they do.

Thanks for writing this. I am a white female Air Force vet. This is something I have been watching in my family and in a lot of the military people I know. It just baffles me how they refuse to see or acknowledge it. My family was not always like this. I remember being 10 and my dad having a conversation with me about how appalled he was at how racist the British were to one of his black coworkers. But now, he doesn’t see how thinking; President Obama is a Muslim who was born in Kenya and can’t possibly be a legitimate president, is super racist. I joined the AF right at the start of Obama’s 1st term. I was also shocked by how a lot of people in the military spoke and thought about Obama. (I’m just glad I am not in anymore, with this commander in chief.)

Thank you for writing this! Because I am a rational human being, female, and non-Christian, I am TERRIFIED of white, male strangers, who obviously pose more of an actual threat to me than does any other category of human being.

Right on! I think we need a better descriptor than “radicalization” though (the misnomer that white supremacy typically uses it for, as a way to silence what’s really radical imho). Sure, it’s handy for provoking white readers to take notice, but ultimately it plays into the language of cognitive dissonance. As Ms. Angela Davis explained it, radical means ‘grasping things at the root’ – and White Nonsense isn’t doing that at all with its delusions and superiority… not about radical analysis (and praxis bold as love). Sheesh – they’re extremists, fanatics, supremacists, destroyers, liars, powermongers… not radicals.

With all due respect , I (a white guy) must disagree with the idea that this is anything new. Radicalized white supremacy has been around since at least Rudyard Kipling’s era. It has been even more intermixed with the mainstream, at various points in the past, than it is now. I agree that we’re in hard times and very dangerous times.

My experience of white supremacism is uncomfortable, because yes, I do feel the pull, the temptation, to go along with it, to accept my white advantages as if I’d personally earned them, to consider myself good for acting merely civil and decent with my nonwhite co-workers and neighbors, and even better for acting friendly. I resist. I don’t have that woman’s enthusiasm to submit to a leader, to waive my individual moral compass and just do as I’m told; but she may experience a pure happiness which my more complicated soul will never experience.

This does seem like an important issue that deserves attention. Honestly, though, this article’s sensational generalizations, among other things, make it difficult for me to take it seriously:

” I’ll go as far as suggesting that white people may get a sad level of satisfaction in hearing non-white people talk, discuss, protest all these things that nonwhites suffer from due to white supremacy. To hear that for example, people in Africa and Asia engage in skin bleaching to look like you — the white person — may be the source of a sick level of pride.”
“-the notion that people in Asia actually go through elective surgery and cut their eyes open to look more white probably fuels a cold-blooded smirk of satisfaction inside of many white people as a whole.
Sure, to a black person this level of pride is sick and disgusting. But to a white person, all of this — white supremacy, white privilege, white defaultness — is simply, the way. ”

It’s one thing to talk about real issues concerning specific groups and indoctrination by white supremacists, but the kind of antagonistic generalization in this quote is, quite frankly, racist in its own way. For an article aims to blow the whistle on escalating racism in the white community, that strikes me as somewhat hypocritical.
Any truth within this article – about increased radicalization by white supremacist groups and the media’s disproportionate lack of cover of it – is discredited by its sensational, polarized tone and blatant pandering to belligerence.
What’s more, it neglects to acknowledge that racial tensions have dramatically worsened on ALL sides over the years, rather than just on one side. Controversial killings caused tension, which caused protests and riots, intensifying the tension, which caused more riots, protests, and indisputably deliberate murders. Violence begot violence, and vitriol propagated exponentially. That’s why, on all sides, we have far more outspoken racists today than we did half a decade ago.

I’m all for blowing the whistle on assholes and holding the community to a higher standard; but if that is done from a stance that antagonizes a large group of people for the actions of a smaller group, it only fragments us further and does nothing to solve the problem.
If the author of this article really wanted it to have a positive influence, he should’ve left out the antagonistic generalizations and focused more on the issue itself, directed blame only on those who are actually in extreme racist groups and silent media, and encouraged discussion on what we can ALL do to fix it together. 🙂

Sorry for the wall ‘o text! My two cents turned into… much more than two cents.

I was a white teacher in an inner city high school for 5 years (yes, it was 99% black). I got to see things from a perspective most white people will never even have the guts to see. I think what flabbergasted me the most is my white friends unwillingness to believe what I told them, although I was the one in the know. The were too firmly entrenched in the media portrayal of all blacks being desperately poor, hopeless, less intelligent criminals and were not going to accept any views to the contrary. It is heartbreaking. This in and of itself shows how racist whites can be without even realizing it.

25+ years later I am still keeping up with those students via FB, and they have related sad stories of racism and losing white “friends”. As many opinions on this thread show, there is still much racism that they are not even aware that they have.